Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a common pathogen associated with diseases such as acute otitis media or exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The biofilm-forming capability substantially contributes to the persistence of NTHi. However, the regulation of biofilm formation is not completely understood. Quorum sensing regulated by autoinducer-2 produced

The objective of this analysis was to compare three methods of handling HIV-RNA data below the limit of quantification (LOQ) when describing the time-course of antiretroviral drug response using a drug-disease model. Treatment naive Scandinavian HIV-positive patients (n = 242) were randomized to one of three study arms. Two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors were administrated in combinat

BACKGROUND: Established risk factors for pancreatic cancer include smoking, long-standing diabetes, high body fatness, and chronic pancreatitis, all of which can be characterised by aspects of inflammatory processes. However, prospective studies investigating the relation between inflammatory markers and pancreatic cancer risk are scarce. METHODS: We conducted a nested case-control study within th

The purpose of this study was to evaluate 10 process-based terrestrial biosphere models that were used for the IPCC fifth Assessment Report. The simulated gross primary productivity (GPP) is compared with flux-tower-based estimates by Jung etal. [Journal of Geophysical Research 116 (2011) G00J07] (JU11). The net primary productivity (NPP) apparent sensitivity to climate variability and atmospheric

Recovering nutrients from urine as solid minerals such as struvite can eliminate many hurdles related to the use of liquid urine as fertilizer in the current urine separation systems. The focus of this study has been to increase nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies by developing a struvite formation and recycling process. Struvite crystallization was carried out in urine samples by additio

In this work, we report for the first time the rotational coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) spectrum of water vapor, recorded through experiments at 400K and 670K for Raman shifts up to 600cm(-1). Using the standard dual-broadband pure rotational CARS approach, the resonant structure was overwhelmed by a strong non-resonant background. By employing a polarization technique, this backg

Why do certain ministers remain in their post for years while others have their time in office cut short? Drawing on the broader literature on portfolio allocation, this article argues that the saliency of individual portfolios shapes ministerial turnover. The main argument is that ministerial dismissals are less likely to occur the higher the saliency attributed to the ministerial portfolio since

Inflammation is known to be linked with development of colorectal cancer, and the aim was to assess the malignant potential and degree of inflammation in a dextran-sulphate-sodium-(DSS-) induced cyclic colonic tumour model (CTM) in rats and to compare it with the azoxymethane-(AOM-) induced CTM model. Tumours developed in both groups, although, in the DSS group, the colonic mucosa appeared edemato

This study criticizes approaches equating opposition electoral victories with democratization in competitive authoritarian regimes. Not only are these approaches theoretically problematic, but there are also important empirical reasons to distinguish between electoral turnovers and democratization. The study goes on to explain why some African turnovers have been successful in bringing about democ

Presently there is an abundance of sites, across media, promoting acts of communal reading (televised book clubs, web rings, publishers’ book discussion questions, etc.). This article forms a case study of what usages of reading and concurrently what reading subjects are framed in the Swedish televised book club, Malous bokklubb (Malou’s Book Club), modelled on Oprah’s Book Club in the USA and Ric

To estimate the impact of urbanization on wild animals, it is important to know how different species, populations and/or individuals deal with and respond to environmental stress. Are more urbanized species adapted to their environment, or do individuals acclimatize over the course of their life? Alternatively, do they simply cope at the expense of other functions? These are three key processes t

In retinal transplantation experiments it is hypothesized that remaining diseased photoreceptor cells in the host retina and inner retinal cells in transplants physically obstruct the development of graft-host neuronal contacts which are required for vision. Recently, we developed methods for the isolation of donor photoreceptor layers in vitro, and the selective removal of host photoreceptors in

Here we present a study of the relationship between July-August (JA) mean climate over China, which is strongly linked to the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM), and the summer (JA) North Atlantic Oscillation (SNAO). The variations of temperature, precipitation, and cloud cover related to the SNAO were analyzed for the period 1951-2002 using gridded data sets as well as instrumental data from 160 st

Diffractive excitation is usually described by the Good-Walker formalism for low masses, and by the triple-Regge formalism for high masses. In the Good-Walker formalism the cross section is determined by the fluctuations in the interaction. By taking the fluctuations in the BFKL ladder into account, it is possible to describe both low and high mass excitation in the Good-Walker formalism. In high

The purpose of the paper is to develop a framework of management competences related to the effective management of three types of online innovation tools. The framework highlights the development of three types of management competences and related practices: (a) disclosure competence in order to find, direct and motivate users to contribute, (b) appropriation competence in order to appropriate u

A range of phenotypes including Greig cephalopolysyndactyly and Pallister-Hall syndromes (GCPS, PHS) are caused by pathogenic mutation of the GLI3 gene. To characterize the clinical variability of GLI3 mutations, we present a subset of a cohort of 174 probands referred for GLI3 analysis. Eighty-one probands with typical GCPS or PHS were previously reported, and we report the remaining 93 probands

Brattforsheden is a large glacifluvial deposit in southwestern Sweden and associated with it is one of Sweden's largest inland dune fields. Although the relative ages of the Brattforsheden deposits are well known, absolute ages from the area are few. In this study we have used optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), surface exposure (Be-10) and radiocarbon (C-14) dating to provide an absolute chr

Regime shifts present a big challenge to traditional strategic asset allocation. This article investigates whether regimebased asset allocation can effectively respond to changes in financial regimes at the portfolio level, in an effort to provide better long-term results than more static approaches can offer. The authors center their regime-based approach around a regime-switching model with time